Ridley’s super Sunday was no surprise to high school coach

Monday

Sep 10, 2012 at 6:44 PM

FOXBORO — If anybody knows what Stevan Ridley is made of, it’s David King.King was Ridley’s coach at Trinity Episcopal School in Natchez, Miss., and still talks to the New England Patriots’ new top running...

Kevin McNamara Journal Sports Writer kevinmcnamara33

FOXBORO — If anybody knows what Stevan Ridley is made of, it’s David King.

King was Ridley’s coach at Trinity Episcopal School in Natchez, Miss., and still talks to the New England Patriots’ new top running back two or three times a week. While Ridley may have raised more than a few eyebrows around the NFL on Sunday when he rambled for a career-high 125 yards on 21 carries in New England’s 34-13 romp over the Tennessee Titans, King was hardly surprised. In fact, he’s worn a knowing smile ever since the game ended.

Coming off his rookie year, Ridley was known as a talented prospect who may be a bit prone to fumbling. King shrugs off any and all critiques of a player he calls “the best football player in the history of this town.”

“Stevan was doubted coming out of high school because he ran a 4.6 in the 40 (yard dash). Well he went to LSU,” King said. “People said he’d never play running back at LSU. His junior year, he was All-SEC. They said he wasn’t a pro back, and he went in the third round to the best organization in the NFL. Last year, they said he’d never be a starter. (Sunday) he ran for 125 yards for the best team in the NFL. The guy always proves people wrong.”

With his career ready to take off, Ridley finds himself in a great position. In the offseason, BenJarvus Green-Ellis jumped to Cincinnati via free agency. That opened up plenty of opportunities in the Patriots’ backfield. Right now, Ridley and veteran Danny Woodhead are slated to handle the vast majority of the work. He’s also fortunate to serve as the complement to perhaps the best passing game in the NFL. Opposing defenses game-plan so intensely to stop Tom Brady, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski that they can almost be forgiven if a back with Ridley’s strength and quickness starts slicing and dicing the line of scrimmage.

“I thought he ran hard,” coach Bill Belichick said of Ridley in a Monday meeting with reporters. “He had some good runs, and he had some other runs that could’ve been better. I thought he finished runs, he ran hard, he broke a couple tackles in the secondary. Overall, we just need to be more consistent with the running game.”

Belichick noted that Ridley “made some yards after contact, and in a couple cases, he made secondary players miss around the line of scrimmage and got some extra yardage.”

The good news for Ridley is he certainly earned the chance to run the ball again next week in New England’s home opener against Arizona. That wasn’t clear at the end of last season. The rookie fumbled in a late-season game and then put the ball on the ground again late in a playoff rout of Denver. Those mistakes led to him being on the inactive list for the AFC Championship Game against Baltimore. He was active for the Super Bowl but did not play, something he says stuck with him throughout an offseason where he’s chiseled his body down to 220 muscular pounds. He hasn’t weighed so little since his junior year of high school.

“I really say it was mainly focus,” Ridley said of his fumbling issues during an interview Monday on WEEI radio. “Toward the end of the year you have two balls on the ground, I don’t think you’re going to be playing much anywhere, no matter where you are, whether it’s peewee football or the New England Patriots. Back-to-back games with two fumbles, I knew even as a rookie that that was two things that couldn’t happen.”

King said he’s spoken with Ridley about the late-season fumbles and focused on inspiring confidence more than anything heading into training camp. King never had a problem handing the ball to his star back. In a state title game in his senior year, Ridley led Trinity to the championship after carrying the ball 52 times for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

“Stevan was an unbelievable athlete,” King said. “He kicked off and kicked it out of the end zone. He punted and averaged 40 yards a kick. He could’ve been a very good small-college quarterback the way he threw the ball, and on defense, he was a bruising tackler. I’d give the ball to Stevan Ridley as much as he could handle it.”

Belichick and the Patriots are hoping for solid, not spectacular, efforts from their second-year back. Asked if the coaching staff has stressed ball control to Ridley over the offseason, Belichick said, “We stress it every week. I’ve never not stressed it since I’ve coached. It’ll always be stressed. That will never be not stressed.”

Ridley’s best rushing day as a rookie came with a 97-yard effort at Oakland. That game included his first NFL touchdown. His second came on a 1-yard run in the third quarter in Nashville. Last season, Green-Ellis eclipsed 100 yards rushing only once (Oct. 9 vs. the New York Jets).

Ridley is hoping for more big rushing games, but he also appreciates his role in an offense that will always start with Brady and his multitude of passing weapons. Yet having the running game counter-punch is clearly a focus for the Patriots in 2012.

“Stevan came into camp with a lot of confidence, and he’s really excited about what the Patriots can do on offense,” said King, who now coaches high school ball at Adams County Christian School in Natchez. “We talk a lot about the fine line between arrogance and confidence, and Stevan understands that. He can be a team leader, and he realizes he is part of a very special team.”